Postal Service Consolidation Meeting Tonight

Mail in Bradenton and Sarasota could be sent to Ft. Myers for processing if a U.S. Postal Service consolidation plan is approved, and residents have an opportunity tonight to voice their opinions on the potential move.

The will host a public meeting to discuss its proposal to move some mail processing operations from the Manasota Processing & Distribution Center, 850 Tellevast Road, to the Ft. Myers center located 92 miles south of the current plant. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Sahib Shrine Auditorium, 600 North Beneva Road in Sarasota.

The Postal Service said that the combination of less mail being sent, more use of electronic messaging and other economic factors, it believes that a consolidation is needed. About $8.5 million could be saved annually if the move was made, according to the Postal Service.

In its preliminary study, the Postal Service estimates 126 positions would be lost. Here is the break down:

• 209 transportation employees would lose their jobs at the Manasota plant

• 115 net transportation employees lost due to consolidation

• 94 transportation employees will be added to the Ft. Myers plant

• 11 net management positions will be eliminated.

Initial study results support consolidating some mail processing operations that are currently being performed at the Manasota P&DC by taking advantage of available processing capacity at the Ft. Myers P&DC in order to increase efficiency and improve productivity. The latest study on the Manasota move started Feb. 23 to determine the feasibility of consolidating.

Just because a plant is being studied for consolidation doesn't mean it will happen. WBBH, the Ft. Myers NBC affiliate, reported in November that the Ft. Myers plant that's being considered to move mail to from the Manasota region, was tabbed for consolidation to West Palm Beach, but that fell apart.

The same report noted that the Manasota plant was once considered for consolidation, but that move, which would have combined it with a Tampa plant, would not have been profitable.

The American Postal Workers Union Manasota president told The Herald-Tribune in February that the uncertainty is having a negative impact on the families of the postal employees:

"Local postal workers, who only recently received a reprieve from the potential consolidation with Tampa, are worried that any merger would result in families being uprooted, and their union contracts being broken and possible layoffs.

"We don't see how they would save any money either," Jim DeMauro, president of the Manasota branch of the American Postal Workers Union, said of the new study. "They're not releasing any information on why they think it would be more feasible. We have spouses, children who live in the community. There's a lot of uncertainty right now."

While no final decision has been reached, Postal Service managers will give an overview of the reasons for the proposal and its possible outcomes, and will listen to community input and concerns at tonight's meeting.

The Postal Service has released its presentation, which can be viewed in the PDF attached to this story.

In the presentation, the Postal Service shows that a consolidation would help a standard letter to reach its destination in two to three days. The processing plant, which is typically used between midnight and 6 a.m., would be used from about 9 a.m. to 4 a.m. That means no overnight mail processing.

The Postal Service also says the following areas might see changes, or no changes at all from a consolidation:

• Local business mail acceptance times may change.

• Local collection box pick-up times will not change as a result of the AMP.

• A local postmark will be available for stamped First-Class Mail at retail locations.

• Delivery times of mail to residences and businesses will not change. 

For commercial mailers, the Postal Service says presorted mail will continue to have discounts and mailers who drop ship to Destination Sectional Center Facility 342 — the government-assigned code for the Manasota plant — could expect changes.

Written comments can be submitted up to 15 days after the meeting to:

District Manager of Consumer and Industry Contact
Suncoast District
2203 N. Lois Ave Suite 1032
Tampa FL  33607-7132

Comments must be postmarked by April 19.